#aaron going to see sebastian

[bobbie-robron]

Look… Aaron, I can’t help it if I’m not ready for kids.

Mini set

20-Nov-2018

[mrs-stans]

Sebastian Stan Is “Still Shaking” After Getting Two Golden Globe Nominations

On the heels of recognition for both The Apprentice and A Different Man, Stan speaks to Vanity Fair about his “surreal” journey to awards recognition, as well as being nominated in the same year as Pamela Anderson.

BY SAVANNAH WALSH

It’s not every day that an actor earns a Golden Globe nomination, much less two in the same morning. But Sebastian Stan joined the likes of Selena Gomez and Kate Winslet on Monday by getting dual Globe nominations. “It’s certainly surreal,” he tells Vanity Fair, “still sort of shaking from it.”

Stan secured recognition for both his dramatic turn as Donald Trump in The Apprentice and his more comedic performance as a tormented aspiring actor named Edward in A Different Man. It is the first time that a male performer has pulled off double nominations in the lead acting categories since Ryan Gosling managed to do it back in 2012. “Listen, one of my favorite actors of all time,” Stan says. “I’d be very glad to be in that little stat with him.”

In the early hours of nomination morning, Stan was getting some shuteye—or, at least attempting to. “I actually woke up in the middle of the night at 4:00, and was like, Oh, okay, there’s an hour and a half. I fell asleep again, and then I got a call from my publicist,” he tells VF. Since then, “I’ve been sending a lot of pictures to my mom.”

Some excitement is to be expected, especially when considering what it took to get both of Stan’s nominated films to the screen. “I never would’ve dreamt that I was going to be going to the Globes with both of these films, I never would’ve dreamt that both of the films would’ve come out in the same year,” he says.

Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man sat in limbo for two years before debuting on the festival circuit this year. At the Sundance Film Festival, it was acquired by A24 for a fall release. The film then screened in Berlin, where Stan won the Silver Bear for best lead performance. Meanwhile, The Apprentice, directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Vanity Fair special contributor Gabriel Sherman, premiered at May’s Cannes Film Festival to positive reviews. But the film faced a treacherous road to distribution in the days before the 2024 presidential election.

“To even be in one room with both films is not something that’s ever crossed my mind,” Stan says. “So, I’ll be digesting that probably throughout the holiday season.” The recognition for each movie feels extra gratifying because “they both felt really challenging in terms of what the roles we’re requiring,” he says, “obviously one being one of the most famous people in the world, with a lot of people having very strong feelings about [him], and many, many impressions having been done. How do you go in there and find something new, or try to offer a different perspective?”

As it turns out, bringing a young Donald Trump to life during the dawn of his fortuitous relationship with Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong, now Globe-nominated for best supporting actor in a feature film) was only half the fight. Stan recently opened up about the struggle to promote The Apprentice in the wake of Trump’s re-election, including having to pass on Variety’s Actors on Actors because other participants were reluctant to talk about the president-elect.

“The movie has had a really uphill battle since Cannes,” says Stan, who also recently nabbed an Independent Spirit Award nomination for the movie. “It’s been hard for people to have permission to express how they feel about the movie, and today feels very gratifying in terms of having the Golden Globes recognize the film, and the work. It feels like hopefully going forward people can feel okay talking about it, and see it.”

Stan earned his first Globes nomination for playing Tommy Lee in 2022’s similarly controversial based-on-a-true-story project, Pam & Tommy. How does he feel to be nominated in the same year as the real-life Pamela Anderson, who became a first-time nominee for The Last Showgirl? “I’m so happy for her, and [it’s] so well deserved. It’s a beautiful film and a beautiful performance,” says Stan. “From our end, this was always part of the goal and the intention [of the series]—to somehow shine a light where it hasn’t been shined before, and hopefully contribute in a way [to her success]. So yeah, I’m ecstatic for her.”

Stan is also rooting for many of his other fellow nominees. “My two favorite films of the year are Sing Sing and A Real Pain,” says the actor, who then praises one of his competitors in the musical/comedy lead actor race. “Jesse Eisenberg, I want to say congratulations to him because he’s somebody I worked with years ago, in 2006 [via Fred Durst’s feature directorial debut, The Education of Charlie Banks], and the man’s a genius. I love that movie so much.”

He also spotlights The Substance, a film that, along with a release date, also shares themes with A Different Man—more specifically, issues of transformation and fixation on physical appearance. “There were a lot of articles that kind of put us together, in terms of the themes of the movies,” says Stan. “But they’re unique in the sense that they are original. Sing Sing, A Real Pain, I should say Anora while I’m at it—to be able to have films that are standing on their own without any IP, or anything about them that we know but their true original film storytelling, is amazing.”

The Globes are seen as something of a precursor on the way to potential Oscar gold—but Stan isn’t getting ahead of himself. “The fact that we’re here today in itself is such a massive step, but it is very much a one day at a time experience,” says the 42-year-old. “As an actor in this community, besides the work that you do on the day, when you go home at night and feel like you’ve left it all on the field, there’s nothing more gratifying than the actual recognition of your peers. I’ve been doing this for 20-some odd years, and I’m pretty grateful. So, knock on wood, and whatever happens next happens—but we’ve already won in a major way.”

[jeanmoreautemple]

TGR wrap up thoughts:

Chapter 17 might just be the worst torture in the whole series. This is why I can’t read an Andrew POV book. My heart woudn’t take it. I hope Zane gets paralyzed or gets killed violently or something.

Chloé Moreau was a full on mob wife that could have civilians killed just like that? And the Algerian arms dealer that Elodie was sold to was a contact of hers?? Carmela Soprano or Connie Corleone vibes I’d say.

JEAN HAS A CHILDHOOD!! EXY YOUTH!! TEAMMATE!!! THAT CARES!! and knew about Elodie!!!!

I want to apologize to everyone for doubting Jerejean being balanced, it’s clear Jeremy will need Jean as much as Jean needs him.

Jeremy exclusively sleeping with people who treat him like his family??? Belittling his efforts and calling him a whore?? Who choke him and don’t care that they leave marks on him?

Jean finding Laila hot!! Jeremy wasn’t completely lying when he told his mom Jean had a crush on her, and I know it makes him nervous.

Annalise blushing just from seeing Jean in person- the satisfaction I felt was unmeasurable.

Jeremy obsessing over Jean’s taste in women but not in men? Getting crazy jealous of Laila, Renee and Annalise but not Kevin? Interesting.

Jean knowing how to braid hair!!! Because of Elodie!! 🥲 Laila brushing Jean’s hair and Jean braining hers??

So many wrist and temple kisses???? This is beautiful. And in a Nora book??

Elodie is officially “missing” and interpol can’t track her sale? Oh Nora don’t make me hope…

If she’s actually dead then both Noah and Elodie would have been dead for 4 years as of 2007, assuming Elodie was killed shortly after being sold to the armsdealer in Algiers.

Jean is already good at cooking, ceramics and knows how to drive a motorcycle 🥹

Jeremy’s biological dad is in Korea? He was removed af with Jeremy in their call but I seriously think he’s gonna support Jeremy if he decides to leave the Wilshires.

Jeremy and Jean being called faggots and whores by Jeremy’s hookups, his biological brother, Warren Wilshire, the press and other exy players, and just about anyone outside the Trojans… it was enough with Jean’s rumours and Lucas… WHYYY NORA

Overall Colleen, Thea and Sergio and this Finn might have been the nicest ravens to Jean? But he still puts Zane in that group after chapter 17 wtf.

Jeremy craving Jean so badly when Jean leaned into him and was between his legs in the hotel room vs Jean getting immediately uneasy and putting Jabberwocky between them when Jeremy put his head near Jean’s crotch area… I can’t wait to see how Nora will handle them getting intimate.

A word for word confirmation that every single person in the nest knew Jean’s age. I don’t have to delete my three posts about it yayy.

Now the public knows Jean’s age too!!! Hope the slut shaming drecreases a bit too.

Jeremy needs to cry. In Jean’s arms.

William Hunter basically saying he’s on Jeremy’s side and not Mathilda’s… I hope they keep in touch when Jeremy leaves for good / Mathilda & Warren kick him out in book 3. I wonder if he’s gonna be the one to give Jeremy his passport and other documents ?

Derek, Derrick and Sebastian not being sure whether Jean likes girls but not having any doubts on whether he likes men lmao.

Cody going “can I ask you something? You can lie…” when he mentioned that Jeremy must absolutely love how Jean says his name hshshsh EVERYBODY KNOWS.

Renee and Jean lying to each other when they ask if they are okay 🙃

Renee supporting Jerejean?? Idk how to feel about that, it’s been only a few months! She’s stronger than me for sure.

Cat and Jean matching bikes!!!

Aaron driving Andrew’s car after the trial!!!! LETS GOOO

Andrew and Renee being press partners and Andrew not saying a single word, BFFs.

Idk how to feel about the Ravens going psycho on live TV. They weren’t even playing or trying to hide it, they were just swinging for the foxes. I felt like it was all very convenient and kinda fanservicey.

Thea showing up again for like 3 pages and fruitfully telling the new gen ravens to kill themselves?? I’ll take it😭 but proclaiming absolute loyalty to old racist Tetsuji? Didn’t Jean say that he killed a freshman boy in her last year?

Jeremy and Renee speaking for the first time on the phone, about Jean!! How awkward was it? I want them to meet in person but it’d be so bittersweet for Jeanee.

Cat and Laila suspiciously made absolute 0 comments on Jerejean this book, when even Renee was teasing. Jeremy erasing the text message about Renee’s looks so Laila wouldn’t start asking questions, but then he just openly searches for a Marseillais French teacher? They are being careful af.

Jeremy blurting to Jean “Maybe Laila’s not as good with her tongue” is CRAZYyy and Jean recovering surprisingly well by saying “I will tell her you said that” . It’s as if Jeremy always has his feelings in check except with sex?? He’s worse than Jean.

I still can’t believe Warren called Jeremy you little faggot just like that. Fuck him, Mathilda and Bryson.

Kevin’s exy tunnel vision was depressive af to read: “Everything I want and need still lies ahead of me; it is a waste of time to look back so long as that holds true” ????? But he needs to drink to talk and lie about the nest and Riko??

I get Kevin and Thea have grown complacent with the nest and don’t have much need to challenge what they saw and experienced because they love exy first and foremost and they are doing great in that regard but omg I can’t believe Jean is close to being the healthiest ex Raven???

Bryson was such a caricaturesque loser villain, he got beaten up by Jean and only ran away to show his mommy?? He better have been the one to leak Jean’s address.

Oh James Rhemann… the man that you are.

Once again I want to erase chapter 17 from my mind. The trilogy finale better be the happiest I’ve ever seen.

WILL JOSHUA SHOW UP?

Jean’s childhood teammate’s letter, the marseillais tutor, Chloé revealed to call some serious shots in the Moreau family? I think it’s all a big giant red herring towards Elodie 🥹

[kevinsdsy]

< prev part | next part: the archives >

all for the game social media au — the summer olympics edition (pt. 7): EVERYONEEE the sebastian & aaron tweet is inspired by @minyard-05’s fic called golden on ao3 and y’all should DEFINITELY read it!!!! it’s genuinely so beautifully written so yeah 🙂‍↕️ would 10/10 recommend + ENJOY SOME SEBASTIAN HEADCANONS WHILE WE’RE AT IT 🫶🏼

another disclaimer: would jean ever offer to go to marseille?? no, i know he wouldn’t. BUT for the 2024 summer olympics he ended up in france anyway and can’t a girl (me) be all about healing and romanticising life? can’t i just believe if he did end up in france anyway he might have realized maybe it isn’t so bad after all— and maybe this place does not have to haunt him forever if he just has the right people with him??? no??? okay well IM SORRY

also if u made it this far to my notes WE’VE DONE IT ‼️ IT’S THE END OF THE TROJANS AND OLYMPIC SOCMED AU will maybe do another post to tell y’all so it’s not hidden all the way down here or put it in the masterlist but oh well we’ll see

ANYWAYS I HAD SO MUCH FUN DOING THIS AND I’M SO SO VERY GLAD Y’ALL SEEMED TO ENJOY IT. I LOVED INTERACTING W Y’ALL AND SEEING THE INBOXES ABOUT HOW Y’ALL PERCEIVED EVERYONE (shawn anderson we’ve learned your name o.o)

please feel free to keep sending me inboxes about things that remind y’all of the trojans hehehe and PLEASE feel free to grab and take any dynamics/characteristics for your own work/thoughts if you’d like

ALSO if you’re really sad about the socmed au ending I CAN PUT YOU ON TWO OF MY FAVOURITES SOCMED AUS RIGHT NOW:

@jeanmoroses: MASTERLIST — tsc social media au

@mqmneee: AFTG/TSC SOCMED AU MASTERLIST

hmm thinking really hard if i missed something but i’m sure this is about it— once again THANK Y’ALL for making this such a fun time for me and for letting me be silly about these characters i love y’all it’s been a BLAST

🩷🌷

[mieeaahhh]

Who do I think aftg characters would put on a hear me out cake?

Neil

Is astronomically confused and doesn’t understand what a hear me out is no matter how many times you explain it to him

A pixelated 0.5 picture of Andrew

Andrew

He wouldn’t say anything when he puts them on the cake. He just puts them on the cake and walks away in silence when it’s his turn

Buck from ice age

Ron Weasley’s dad

Fantastic mr fox

The dad in Horton hears a who

Johnny from hotel Transylvania

Renee (he and Renee thought it would be funny to put each other)

Kevin

Also doesn’t understand what a hear me out is but tried his best

Christof from frozen

Monica from friends

Fred from Scooby doo

Zendaya but only in the greatest showman

Aaron

Was forced against his will to partake in this activity

The ginger lady from minions/despicable me (I forgot her name)

Raquel from Barbie life in the dream house

Peabody from Peabody and Sherman

Mavis from hotel Transylvania

Nicky

This whole activity was his idea

Puss in boots AND donkey

Remus lupin in werewolf form

Jack Frost and the Easter bunny

Santa Claus

Wymack

Mr peanut butter

Foxy from fnaf

Renee

She hadn’t heard of a hear me out cake until they decided to do this, She thinks it’s silly but fun

Puts the same picture of Andrew that Neil put on the cake (she and Andrew thought it would be funny to put each other)

Simon from dinner in America

Jigsaw from the saw films

Miss piggie

The dragon from shrek

Allison

She’s been ITCHING to do one of these just to see what everyone else puts

The snake from the jungle book

Bolt the dog

Jack skeleton and Sally

Fear from inside out

Beans from rango

Dan

Rita the rat and roddy the rat

That cunty police officer from Madagascar

Scar

The Roblox chad face thing

Matt

Has never been so exited for a group activity in his life

Turbo the snail

A picture of Neil

Cole from ninja go

Merlin from finding nemo

Miles morales’ mum

Seth

Doesn’t really know what’s happening or why he’s joining in

Mother gothel

The puberty monster things from big mouth

Gamora from guardians of the galaxy

Margo Robbie’s Harley Quinn

Jean

Understand the game but thinks it’s stupid

Gomez and Morticia Adam’s

Sally from the nightmare before Christmas

That water guy thing from elemental

Fred from scooby doo

Jeremy

Having the time of his life

Gill from finding nemo

Jack Frost

Garfield

Sebastian the crab

Dracula from hotel Transylvania

Cat

Just wanted to see what everyone else was putting

The twins from the simpsons

Merida’s mother as the bear

The Roblox bacon skin

Emma Robert’s in wild child

Laila

Doesn’t understand the point of a hear me out but wanted to join in anyway

Black widow

The Alex skin from Minecraft

Shelly Duvall

The main character from I’m a cheerleader I forgot her name

[minyard-05]

Golden Update

tag list: @kevinsdsy @ashestoashes7 @you-know-i-get-itt @thesunrisecourt @mostlyvoid-partiallyflowers @heartstringgs @mqmneee @millportisntreal @bsideheart

hi everybody!!! it's me, orpheus, author of this little fic that i didnt think would be anything and then part 1 ended up being almost 40k 😂. i started this on july 13th 2024, and now it's exactly 8 months later (YIKES) so now's as good a time as any to post this

i just wanted to give you all a heads up because i'm making some changes to how this whole project is going to be structured moving forward. the plan to cover aaron's entire life from age 13 up until his trial [possibly his 21st birthday] is very much still in place but as you can see this is a series now!! that's because i have some smaller pieces/oneshots some of which belong in the Golden universe but aren't from aaron's perspective (e.g my sebastian moore oneshot thats currently the only other thing in this series lol)

additionally, i want to also make sure that in case i can't finish it for whatever reason, i'll still be able to end the project in a good ending place rather than potentially leaving cliffhangers. so you also may have noticed that this fic, Golden, has ended. 12/12 chapters, we're DONE.

....except aaron's still 13. so what i'm doing is dividing his life into about 6 seperate timeslots, each of which will have their own fic covering it. this was obviously the California section, next we'll have Columbia and aaron's time in highschool, then his freshman year of college, and his sophomore year, which will most likely all be split up into Foxhole Court, Raven King, and King's Men, a la the canon trilogy.

this is going to make it a lot easier for me to navigate my own work, and will also help you guys as readers because you can jump in to any part of the story and just read what you want to. if you have notifications on for this fic, i'd recommend turning them on for the series as well, that way you'll get email updates about everything. my tumblr tag list will remain the same unless anybody asks to be added/removed.

that just about covers everything, if you have any questions then let me know, and finally THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!! this fic has been such a fun ride for me i love aaron i love writing about him and creating all of these intricate little details about his life while i have creative liberty to do whatever i want with him lmao. to everybody's who's been here since day one, i love you all so much you've been absolutely amazing to write for, i have read every single comment on this fic and loved every single one. thank you one million times over for reading and sticking with me despite my inconsistent posting

it means the world that so many of you have loved reading this fic as much as i have loved writing it, i hope you'll join me for the next installment and i hope i can do both aaron and you justice <33333

thank you again and tune in next time for Columbia and (groan) high school, in Twilight.

love, orpheus :P

PS: if you've read Golden and you haven't read my lovely friend gia's EXCEPTIONAL sebastian & aaron fic then u are wasting your time!!! go give it a read it's fantastic and i couldntve asked for a better gift <33

https://archiveofourown.org/works/62627260

[deniable-masterpiece]

I have come up with a list of the top 10 (in no particular order) hot guys I want to sit on my face and I challenge thee to make your own I'm only including live action characters/actors (if I only find them hot in one role or only know them in said role/find them particularly hot in said role) Oscar Isaac Charlie Cox Steve Harrington Andrew Garfield Zach Tinker Wilson Bethel Aaron Taylor Johnson (most of the time but sometimes his hair/facial hair just ain't it) Ian Terry Jonathan Bailey Grant Gustin - 😈

For the sake of not being repetitious, I'm going to do my top ten and replace anyone who would have been on there that you mentioned. (Which is really all of those guys, but I'm still gonna yap about them.) So, some of these aren't in my ideal top ten but these are my top ten excluding the men listed above.

Aaron Taylor johnson is so valid with the facial hair- he's not super hot to me in his current era. He was hot as Kraven and Pietro with the facial hair but that's the only time I really liked it. Didn't love his role as Tangerine with the mustache tbh... it just was not it. I like the more dilfy beard that Charlie Cox usually has/the stubble, that's always super hot and serves to make them look like they have heartburn and tummies that can barely handle dense foods and have knees that pop when they're squatting over me, about to sit on my face (All of that's true for Oscar and Andrew too). But the younger guys like Zach Tinker can kinda pull off the mustache look that he currently has/the clean shaven look he's sported for things like his face model as Jacob and just in general (though, Joe Keery-- Steve Harrington --cannot pull off facial hair, it makes him look greasy and nasty.)

We've already yapped a lot about most of these men, so I'm just gonna move onto my list for the sake of brevity.

My list: (note that these are not in order because they change on a daily/hourly basis, and I put the actor/irl person for simplicity because I typically find them hot in more than one role)

HM: Antony Starr, Noah Beck, and Nicholas Robinson, Rami Malek

Jared Padalecki

Jared has just consistently been fine since the early days, and the older he gets the more that statement remains true. I don't have a lot to say that I haven't said already about him but the behind the scenes of Supernatural are exactly why he should be farting in my face and sitting on it too!

Hayden Moss

Another Big Brother player- I just really love him during that 2 years between when he played Big Brother and then went on to play survivor. He was a blonde bimbo in the form of a fine ass man. He's still fine now but definitely less so, and he's a republican (you can see a trump shirt on in one of his posts...) Still, him on big brother/survivor was an era I will always love and he needs to sit on my face indefinitely.

I was contemplating Tucker Des Lauriers on here too, but I figured that one Big Brother player is enough. But I will explain why Tucker deserves this honorable mention: (these are pics i took when watching the episode live but i’m sure there’s better shots if i comb through the episode again)

Milo Manheim

I have been a D1 supporter for Milo since I watched the Zombies movie at 13 and found him insanely hot. He's insanely tall and lanky which makes him inexplicably hot. His pale cheeks could do numbers to my face and I'd thank him all for it. He may not have the fattest ass, but it's the personality that counts <3. <- I wrote this before that school spirits episode where he was serving ass in those sweatpants. I need to eat him out and clean his ass and be crushed under it and to taste his farts like yesterday. I know they're so lethal I'd become another spirit at that school.

Sebastian Stan

Fun fact this spot was for Noah Beck but I changed it because I want his dilf farts. There isn't much to say other than that he's my OG Marvel dilf obsession and he still kinda is but definitely less-so. I doesn't really help that we're getting DD:BA before Thuderbolts so all my attention is on Charlie, but trust that I was giving Seb a run for his money with how bad I wanted to be his chair. Both as himself, as Bucky, as Steve Kemp, as that guy from Black Swan, as every role he's in.

Bryce Hall

This one is strictly because I think he has a fat ass and he knows it. I don't support his political beliefs nor do I think that this "support" of certain ass-pects of him negates any of the problematic stuff he's done. He's someone I like in pure fantasy, but it is hot to know that he doesn't respect my rights as a queer man and would shove his hot sweaty, gassy ass in my face as punishment for daring to feel like I belong. It's such a disgustingly hot thing, knowing that he genuinely would view me as worthless and that we're better as chairs for fat-assed republicans than being a part of society.

Josh Hutcherson

Him as Mike Schmidt in the FNAF movie really awoke me to how hot he is and how he should sit on my face. I know that ass is so fat and hairy and I see a lot of people buying into that vision as well- from the fakes on Twitter to the fics I've seen that highlight his body hair, I'm glad we all recognize that as a canon and simple fact about Mike in a franchise that has very convoluted lore. Josh is just entering his dilf era after looking like a gassy frat boy in his 20s, now he's a hairy always-upset-stomach and gassy type dilf.

Jack Champion

This one, I'll admit, is getting a little stale for me. I haven't been hugely into Jack since the end of this past summer, where I kinda just obsessed and frothed at the mouth until it just kinda didn't do much for me? He's still hot and seeing pics of that ass will always pull me back in, but I wouldn't have him in my top ten now like I would have a few months ago. Still, it'd be so hot to have him sit on me.

Brenton Thwaites

This is one I don't usually divulge in, mostly because I've seen Titans (but haven't finished it, it just isn't that strong or compelling of a superhero show compared to the Netflix Marvel shows and the Boys tbh) and I haven't really seen Brenton in anything else. Hoping that the rumors about him becoming the new Cyclops are true because that will really reignite my passion for his ass. But truthfully, I would let him sit on my face any day, even if I'm not feeling it.

Tom Holland

Tommmmmm!!!! I truly love him so much, him and Sebastian Stan are the reason I got into superheroes and the MCU in general, because I loveeeee Bucky and Peter. I used to be a superhero hater and his stuff as spider-man is what got me to really enjoy superheroes. (We're gonna ignore Wandavision since that actually got me to watch the whole MCU to understand what was going on with her but stiiiill.) He's so hot now but I used to have this one fantasy when I was younger that he had the most deadliest ass when it came to farts and that he should sit on my face as Hoco/FFH era Peter, it's just so hot to think that he's got all this power over someone at such a young age and knows it. It's not like the other dilfs in the MCU where they've been doing it for years and it's nothing special, but imagine being the first under his ass and he doesn't even know how much to hold back because he's never done it before. Feeling him moan and get so overwhelmed that he's sitting on your face, nerdy Peter just losing it because he gets no action and had to crop-dust his previous crushesssss. It's so hot, popping his fart cherry and face-chair cherry too I guess

Tom's other roles are just as hot too, like Arvin Russell needs to gas me out in his truck.. he's so cute I just want to baby himmmm but also he needs to dom me hard. Nathan Drake too, the dichotomy of all of his roles would be so hot to see.

Robert Pattinson

Another British dilf omfg!! This list feels full of them as I look at what's to come, but Rob is also an OG. All of these are OGs... I think I'm just somehow that this list became people that I return to over and over again. I finally watched Twilight in senior year of high school and I wish I would have made it my vibe that whole year because he's so hot as Edward!! And he's hot in that movie Remember Me, and I think there's ironically a movie where he goes crazy in a lighthouse because the person he's staying with keeps farting. I would let him and his characters drive me crazy with their farts ughhhh

[darerendevil]

*SPOILERS*

Aaron Schimberg kept it brief in his introduction before A Different Man had its world premiere January 21 at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival: “This is the one time I have to be able to show a film without anybody knowing anything about it.” A hush fell over the Eccles audience as the writer-director said that. It’s true. There’s before you see A Different Man, and then there’s after. The before is full of anticipation for the complex drama starring Sebastian Stan, Adam Pearson, and Renate Reinsve. The after is a rush of heart-clenching realizations about your own sense of self-worth, the true values of society, and questions about the ownership of your identity and story — even if you aren’t sure you want to own it yourself.

Edward (Stan) is an actor...

with a facial disfigurement who sticks to himself, doesn’t fix the leak in the ceiling of his apartment, and books parts in training videos for companies to learn how to treat people with disabilities just like everyone else. When his doctor tells him of a new experimental procedure that can “cure” his appearance, he decides to try it so he can be treated normally, like the people in the horrific training videos he shoots.

As Edward’s facial growths start to peel off — in a scene one can only describe as a moving Francis Bacon painting — instead of feeling relief, he still feels the need to hide who he is from everyone. That includes his playwright neighbor Ingrid (Reinsve), who has thrust herself into Edward’s orbit without fully letting him into hers.

His solution? To fake his own death and reemerge as a new “normal” guy hastily named Guy. This shedding of his skin seems to be working — he gets a new job as the most shiny of real estate agents and has a new, fancy loft apartment — until he sees that Ingrid has followed through on her goal to write a play with a part for him. Unfortunately, the play is about him, her dead neighbor, and their relationship through her eyes.

This is where A Different Man starts to fold in on itself in a brilliant meta statement about representation and authorization within the entertainment industry.

“[The film] is playing with various disability tropes,” explains Schimberg during the post-premiere discussion. “Like the sad disfigured man in his apartment, and playing around with those elements.” Since Edward’s story starts with that trope, it leaves the viewer uncomfortable and upset when we see Ingrid using these same tired storylines. It proves that she never really knew Edward, but had no problem using his disfigurement to push through a play about her being a “good person.”

But, wait, weren’t we introduced to Edward in the same fashion? The film doubles down on this complication by having Edward-presenting-as-Guy beg his neighbor to let him play her version of himself within her off-Broadway show. Even with the face of an actual Hollywood movie star, Edward is bending his life around the preconceived notions of others. His desire to be both the before and after Edward is complicated further when Oswald (Pearson), an effervescent and charming man with similar facial disfigurements as the original Edward, enters the theater during rehearsal and proceeds to take his role and his relationship with Ingrid away.

On the subject of casting this complicated weave of an identity story, Schimberg recalls how thorny that was even within his own singular vision: “I thought you’re caught in a bind because some people said that casting Adam was exploitative, and then on the other hand casting a Hollywood star and putting him in prosthetics is also the opposite of what we think of as representation, even though it’s still very commonly used. So I was caught in a bind and I just thought: I’m going to do a movie that does both. I’m going to have a Hollywood actor in prosthetics, I’m going to have Adam be Adam and see what comes of it and build some kind of path forward.”

That path forward is a masterful film filled with tension. But while it might seem like the struggle is going to be between Edward and Oswald, A Different Man’s only true tension is within Edward himself. Stan excels as he wrestles with embarrassment and longing for his former face. Every time someone comments on Oswald’s appearance to Edward while he’s passing as Guy, you can feel the hot anger within him because they assume he agrees with their vile opinions. “Suppression is a really bad thing,” Stan says, passionate about his character and this creative journey. “That was my take on [why Edward hid his true identity]. But I think, sometimes, when you spend so much time denying yourself you don’t have the courage in those moments to speak up.”

“That was kind of the hook we gave to Sebastian,” Pearson continues. “Yeah you don’t know what it’s like to have a disfigurement, but you do know what it’s like to not have privacy and to have your life constantly invaded, for better or worse.” Stan nods his head emphatically, “Public property, right?”Pearson nods back at him down the line. “Yeah, those are the kind of chats we had to get it right.” He pauses and chuckles.

“I’m glad it wasn’t a physical battle because I would have lost that one.”

[no-goodbyes-no-regrets]

So...when is Ryan Hawley rejoining Emmerdale? We need a Robron Reunion soon right? Seb is growing up without his Dads, Aaron is stuck in the village and Robert is stuck on the IoW! Of course, when Robert and Aaron come face to face, they will not see eye to eye. So, what would you prefer? A massive blow up like Chrissie and Robert causing havoc in the village or a slow burn like before the 2018 reunion - but obviously with a sane, Maxine written SL? If RWRB fans can manifest a sequel into reality, 911 Buddie fans have the Buckley-Diaz family within reach, we can dream about a Robron wedding in Las Vegas right? 😝😂

lol I don't think buddie fans are really the best example here.

but yes, he's done the guest parts on other shows, he's done voice over work, he's made two kids - time to go back!

Though Maxine isn't a writer on emmerdale anymore (something about rats and sinking ships) but since we're fully 🤡🤡🤡 here maybe she'll do a guest ep for a special occasion!

Like Aaron being shifty for weeks, secret phone calls and texts, snapping at Vinny when he tries to look at his screen. Telling him it's none of his business when he asks what he's hiding. And then one random tuesday he'll announce he's going away for a couple of days and no, he won't tell where to.

And then we get Aaron getting in his car and adjusting the mirrors For Reasons and we see he has one of those picture key chain thingies hanging from his rear-view mirror with their wedding pic with Seb in it and he drives away (this would actually work with the bts pic Danny posted where he's filming with/in Aaron's car!). And there's a few shots of him driving until he pulls up to a random house somewhere. He parks his car and gets out, walks up to the house and rings the doorbell, a person we don't know opens the door. "Hi Aaron. He's waiting for you."

Aaron goes in and we see a little boy watching tv and clutching a giraffe plushie, and a packed backpack next to him.

The person tries to get the kid's attention but he's focused on the tv and they sort of apologise to Aaron who just shrugs and sits down next to him.

"Hey mate, what are you watching?"

And the boy quickly looks at him and smiles and then starts telling him all about the thing he's watching.

And Aaron just lets him ramble and just has this *fond* look in his eyes the whole time.

*some other stuff happens, tom is still abusing belle, everyone is miserable*

When we come back to Aaron and the boy, the show he was watching has ended and he's sitting next to Aaron who has his arm around him.

"So are you ready to go home?"

the boy nods and we see a shot of the person who let Aaron in smiling at the two of them.

"Alright, lets go then. Go say bye."

The boy walks up to the person and says bye and they bend down to hug him.

"Bye Sebastian, it's been a pleasure having you here but I'm sure you'll be very happy back with your dads again."

*gasp* *shock* The boy is Seb!

They leave and we see Aaron strap Seb into a car seat and triple check all of the straps and buckles until he's satisfied and he gets behind the wheel and starts the car.

He tells Seb to wave at the person as they drive away and we see them round the corner and disappear from view.

Then there's some more shots of Aaron driving but it's notably a very different road/route than before and we see him maybe check google maps on his phone a lot, indicating that he doesn't know the road where they're going.

It's implied they've been on road a long time and they stop at a mcdonalds or something to get something to eat and Seb gets to play in the ballpit for a while.

Aaron is still on his phone A LOT and texting someone until his phone rings in his hand. He answers in typical Aaron style with a few one word answers and then hangs up, and tells Seb they have to go again.

When they get into the car he tells Seb it's only short drive now and we see them drive to a bus station and pull over.

Aaron smiles at something in front of them and gets out of the car, standing by the door, not quite believing his eyes.

"You took your time." someone out of view tells him and he laughs.

"Shut up and get over here you."

And we see him stepping away from the car, walking towards someone, and when the other person is within reach, he grabs a suit jacket and the camera focuses on his hands - fists balled into the fabric.

"I've missed you mister Dingle."

And the camera *FINALLY* pans up and we see Robert half smiling, half crying, pulling back a little to REALLY look at Aaron.

And he cups his face and wipes away a stray tear with his thumb.

"I missed you too mister Sugden"

*credits roll, the nation rejoices, all is right in the world again, robron are reunited*

[xerith-42]

Some Slightly More Coherent Thoughts about Void Paradox

Riveting title, I know, but this is the quality content I'm sure... 50 of you signed up for? When the fuck...? How are there so many of you?? And in spite of that title, this post is still long as fuck

Anyways I finished Void Paradox and it sure made me feel a certain way. [Cut to footage of me literally screaming anytime Laurance showed emotion in the series]. Gotta say, as a long time Laurance fan, this is really nice to have. I've been going on my tirades about how Jess ruined Laurance for the sake of Aaron, and how Laurance never really bounced back from this character assassination, but I wasn't entirely right. He sort of bounced back?

Well, we got this. I still would have liked Laurance in Love-Love Paradise but I guess I'll take him in this series. And honestly, it's the best Laurance content I've gotten that isn't fan content since... well, since I first watched the show back in 2015 when I was a literal fetus. Every time after I've gone back and watched as Laurance got written poorly from honestly really early episodes sometimes (looking at you Episode 65), and had to deal with the unfortunate truth that he was essentially unimportant to the story Jess decided to tell with both her series, despite being the main character of one of them.

It's so refreshing to have quality Laurance content, and we got a variety of it in this show. He's so expressive, so alive, so emotional. I've always loved Laurance because surprise surprise, the men in my life weren't always the most emotionally vulnerable, so I latched onto fictional men who were as a coping mechanism! Yayyy! And Laurance has always been a very emotionally vulnerable character, at least in the beginning. It's part of the tragedy that is his character arc in Season 2. That Laurance is usually vulnerable, that he's the one who's always willing to talk about his emotions, but the calling is making it harder to open up, and the world has only become crueler to men like him who dare to feel too much.

Wow I just keep sliding into depressing content in this post, I'm trying to praise Laurance's writing in this series. Because it's good. I have my problems with Void Paradox as a whole, but as a showing for my favorite character in the entire Aphverse, a chance at redemption, it's fantastic. As I said Laurance is so expressive in this series, largely thanks to Sebastian Todd being an absolutely phenomenal voice actor who clearly knows and cares about this character. His performance is absolutely excellent and a great high note for this character to go off on.

I cannot emphasize how much I adore every little thing about Laurance's portrayal. The flirtiness, the smug bastard energy, the very sincere and open care, that one scene where he gets super embarrassed and then whimpers that I haven't listened to like eighteen times. The whole thing is great. His dynamic with this alternate version of Aphmau is so good, it's so great to see him bounce off of other characters. I just love it so much.

That scene where he realizes that he's in a similar scenario to the Nether and literally instantly jumps to "If it comes down to it, let me sacrifice myself," I SCREAMED AT THIS. The whole series whenever he angsts over his old world I scream, but that line really hit me. Fuck whatever you say about Laurmau in every universe, the universal truth of Laurmau, nay the universal truth of Laurance is this;

"I would sacrifice myself so you could live in every universe."

That's Laurance! That's Laurance with literally anyone you want!! This is the best characterization Laurance has ever gotten. It's consistent with his character, and I love the fact that Mod Aphmau doesn't even let him finish his consideration of self-sacrifice, she just shuts it down and it's a great contrast to what Laurance is used to. I adore how that's what he jumps to, I adore the fact that he's as clueless as I am about the lore this season, I love the rivals esque thing he's got going on with Jaiden, that was fun. Lotta potential there. This was just a good time. I cannot emphasize how delightful Laurance was in this series. How his delightful presence is the most enjoyable thing in the series, and a literal blessing unto us all.

Wasn't it nice to feel good about an Aphmau series for like.. two minutes. Anyways here's the part where I get a little salty with Jess, as per usual. I'm not going to go too in depth on my problems with Void Paradox as a story because it's mercifully short and a lot of my complaints did come from a standpoint of not knowing any of the lore of Mod Mod World which might have hindered my full ability to understand the larger story.

I can however get VERY salty about the fact that I didn't even know Void Paradox was a thing that had Laurance in it until 2024!! It came out in 2018! How did this happen? Well the answer is very simple, the cause is the bane of my very existence. My Street Season 6 When Angels Fall. [I am shaking with rage]

I know you've likely read how much I can tear into season 2 Episode 95, and oh my Irene can I tear into that episode, but there's a similar but differently visceral emotion When Angels Fall makes me feel. Let's call it a sort of divine rage. And now, I have one more reason to hate it. Because Void Paradox, a series with actual quality content, was released at the same time as whatever the fuck that was, meaning it never had a chance.

For a bit of personal context, I briefly became active in the Aphmau fanbase when this season came out and during the time leading up to it. I had seen every season of My Street, and despite not being the biggest fan of where Jess took the series, I liked a lot of the characters and was invested in where they would go from here. I was knee deep in the My Street trenches when the many many different bombs dropped. Melissa dying but then she didn't but maybe she did and I literally spent hours arguing with people on this, Ein is turning everyone evil, there's a doomsday device, forever potion nonsense is happening, Travis' dad is evil maybe, Aaron is going insane, the multiverse is falling apart, and then Jess just killed the best character in the entire series, dare I say the entire Aphverse, dare I say the entire universe of existence as we know it--

It was a lot. And in all the chaos Void Paradox just... came out. It came out right before episode 9 of When Angels Fall came out. And anyone else who was there during the war... they know what that episode did to us. What it did to me. I wasn't the same after that episode came out. I felt like I had lost a part of myself. Something I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to get back...

And as a result, I and a lot of people didn't see Void Paradox. Looking at the numbers, Void Paradox struggled to get above 1 million viewers for most episodes, while the lowest viewed episode of When Angels Fall sits at a cozy 2.9 million as an established series. Void Paradox is objectively better as a series and deserves to have a second season. We deserve to explore more of the weird ideas Jess clearly had while making it, we deserve to know if a cure can be found, and we, or maybe just me and I'm feeling selfish here, deserve to know if Laurance is okay.

Jess has already taken one comfort character away from me. I'll be damned if she takes another.

[pink-hydrangea]

for some reason now im thinking abt joyride chars in DTS what do you think that would be like

Oh my god???? Oh my god yes

Kevin - pretends he hates it and acts like it’s lowkey a burden because it takes away from his ~~proper racing time but actually secretly loves it and absolutely nails the dramatic line delivery every single time - if there’s some big breaking news story or crash on track, producers are foaming at the mouth to get to him bc they know he’s gonna SELL whatever shit’s happened

Seth - he’s the Lando Norris of the Joyride DTS universe. He will REMAIN sat in that chair and is more than happy to provide hours worth of content. If you hear a soundbite from the show it’s 99% guaranteed to be from him. Also in this category are: Matt, Nicky, Derek and Derrick

Aaron - will do it but takes it seriously bc he’s determined not to be seen as a joke. He’s not gonna risk giving Netflix anything they could edit to make him look bad, so his answers are always v to-the-point and no-nonsense. Tanner attempts to do the same bc he looks at Aaron like a mentor but always falls victim to the urge to yap and so ends up providing all optimistic VCARB quotes for the season

Andrew: he’s the Lewis Hamilton of Joyride DTS - you never see him. Despite being the best around he refuses to sit for an interview so when he DOES show up it’s always candid on-the-ground footage where he’s haunting the background of a shot because it’s a race and he has no choice but to be there

Neil: will only occasionally agree to an interview but the small amount he gives in that time is so diabolical that Netflix is able to milk it across the entire season. One sentence is enough from him for an entire episode, you don’t need to hear more than that

Wymack: one-word answers but he’s lowkey smiling the whole time like he knows how annoying that is. Next question.

Jeremy & Jean: Jeremy’s happy to do it and gives Leclerc vibes throughout, Jean feels like he has to so he does, and secretly likes that Netflix are happy for him to talk in French and not make a big deal about subtitling it. They do insist that their interviews are joint, though - their talking-head segments have the two of them sat together and they play off each other well

Tetsuji: will not participate. Best you ever get from him is a fuzzy microphone audio from behind a closed door, and even that is half-bleeped for language and privacy

Rhemann: good vibes, ends up being many people’s fave team principal purely because of how he presents himself on camera. Netflix go behind the scenes to watch him settling in in Italy and there’s at least one very wholesome scene of him and Adi attempting to learn Italian together over breakfast

Cody & Allison: the Alex Albons of Joyride DTS - they come out with some amazing one-liners that are lowkey shady but they’re so funny and warm at the same time that people eat it up

Dan, Sebastian, Renee, Xavier, Nabil & Ananya: fighting for their LIVES trying to compensate for the chaotic energy the rest of the grid are bringing by attempting to maintain a balance of genuine, insightful answers and some light humour. Some (see: Dan and Renee) do better than others (see: Sebastian and Ananya). Xavier and Nabil are true neutral and the producers breathe a sigh of relief when they walk through the door because they know that’s where they’re about to get the BULK of their useable content from

But I wanna hear your thoughts too omg what do you think 👀👀👀👀

[bobbie-robron]

Robron Fanfiction Recommedations (Jun-2025)

The below were recommended in June 2025 on both the Voldemort site and Bluesky.

Christmas Midnight Memories (2016) 4.5K words, orphan_account

It’s Christmas and Aaron is feeling something is missing in life and doesn’t know what that ache is. It could be very much down to his fiancé Robert believing he is unhappy and, because of that, is unexpectedly granted a wish… erasing himself from everyone’s memories. The thing is you can’t erase what is meant to be always. Includes a serving of pub quiz!

Are you still mine? (2015) 4.1K words, WickedandDevine

Takes place June 2015 (weeks after the ‘you are nothing to me’ comment) with a different outcome. Instead of refusing to tell Robert anything about where Vic and Adam may be hiding after Ashley’s accident, here Aaron relents to Robert’s pleas to see his sister to make sure she’s okay. As the two head to that destination, a song on the radio has Aaron thinking back to their week at Home Farm as well as other times (and kisses) he had with Robert. Will this time on the road bring them back to where they were before or remain as they are now?

Where you lead (2019) 5.9K words, toxica939

Gilmore Girls AU. Robert and Aaron have been in each other universe for ages. The thing is the idiots have feelings for each other but neither wants to act on them leaving things status quo. When Aaron asks Robert to go to a wedding as his plus one (weddings are not his thing yet he owns a cafe), it’s 16 year-old Sebastian that has to point out to Robert that it’s date! Will Robert suppress his fears of messing up and finally take a chance with Aaron and find the happiness that both are long overdue for?

Pray you might (2019) 3.3K words, softlyspoken

Post-prison. The lads are apart but civil mostly for Sebastian’s sake (he doesn’t appear himself in the story). But there are moments, like celebrating with a non-date for Sebastian winning a footie match, that bring back feelings when certain songs are played from their past. But is the hurt too ingrained for them to ever be more again?

What happened to taking it slow? (2016) 5.4K words, girfromthenorth

As we all know, the lads are not well known for taking things slow (something that will more than likely change in the return era). Here, we focus in on them at the time of reunion 1.0 when Aaron wanted to take it slow and filing in four gaps during that time that lead them to officially becoming boyfriends.

How Could You? (2016) 7.5K words, DirtyLilGreaseMonkey

Boyfriend era. All is going along swimmingly for the boyfriends until Aaron sees Robert a bit too cozy with Chrissie in the pub and right then and there ends it with Robert without allowing him to explain himself (his innocent reason for being with Chrissie explained early on). What’s it gonna take for Aaron to slow down and stop ignoring his ‘ex’ boyfriend and noticing something missing in plain sight?

I won’t let you close enough to hurt me (2019) 8.3K words, supercali

Teachers AU, Ten years ago, Aaron and Robert had a thing at uni, it wasn’t serious but also wasn’t casual either. When the term ended, Robert never returned and Aaron heard a word from him. That is, until now. Both are teachers at the same school and are given the task of working together on a production of Oliver! The hurt is still very raw for Aaron even after a decade and finds it hard to get along with Robert. Meanwhile, the owner of cafe Aaron frequents, Sarah, keeps trying to set Aaron up with her son who recently has returned… Do Robert and Aaron have a chance by putting the past in the past?

[mrs-stans]

INTERVIEW: Sebastian Stan on Curiosity, Confrontation, and His Oscar Contenders

Sebastian Stan has had a wild twelve months that I strangely found myself a small part of.

Stan received critical acclaim and awards attention for two films: A Different Man, where he played an actor with a facial disfigurement, and The Apprentice, where he played a young Donald Trump. Both performances are intricately detailed and precise, evading stereotypes and caricatures amidst shifting themes and tones. They also encapsulate a common theme in his work that I first noticed in Fresh: exploring characters’ darker impulses that others either miss or deliberately ignore. Despite their acclaim, both films struggled with distribution and promotion, with The Apprentice facing lawsuit threats and industry hesitance to engage with the film. He went viral after revealing that he couldn’t participate in Variety’s Actors on Actors series because other actors’ publicists didn’t want them discussing the newly-elected president. (My tweet describing the situation as reprehensible went viral, too.) Despite the blowback, Stan remained upfront and outspoken, fashioning himself as a fearless, principled artist during a fraught political and cultural moment.

Stan’s unique position and detailed approach to his work were reinforced in my interview with him for AwardsWatch, conducted days after he won the Golden Globe for A Different Man and before his Oscar nomination for The Apprentice. It was a full circle moment of sorts for me, after advocating for A Different Man since seeing it in April, interviewing Matia Bakalova for The Apprentice, and meeting director Aaron Schimberg following a screening in New York. During our conversation, I sensed that he wanted to meet his moment in time responsibly, emphasizing how important curiosity and empathy were to the human condition. Given his challenges in releasing and promoting his films, I also sensed, through our few interactions, how genuinely moved he was by the support and recognition he’s received. (Case in point: he was incredibly generous with his time when he didn’t have to be.) It’s near-impossible not to be thrilled for him and the acknowledgment of his talent and thoughtfulness.

My goal in publishing this interview in full is for others to sense what I have about Sebastian Stan over these past twelve months by giving him the space to share his journey, in this awards season and in the larger context of his complex career.

[NOTE: This interview has been slightly edited for clarity.]

It’s an embarrassment of riches to say you are in two awards-contending films, The Apprentice and A Different Man. What has the experience been like for you this season?

It’s been very surreal. You never really know the outcomes of any film when you go and make them. You’re always just hoping they turn out well, especially if they’re shot under crazy circumstances, which both of these films were. A Different Man was 24 days, still in COVID, in New York, and it was just running and gunning to try and make the day, every day. And [Aaron] was trying to shoot it on film, and he had these beautiful one-take shots, which required everybody in the crew to be on the same page. And then The Apprentice, I’ve been trying to get going since 2019, and every time we got close, it fell apart. [So] you hope people will watch it. And when you get into this wild time that is the fall, where you’ve got so many films coming out and major studios contending like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, and everyone’s got their horses in the race, so to speak, you don’t know if your movie will cut through.

A Different Man had an interesting journey. It’s amazing because Aaron and I kept saying, “Look, somehow we’re at the Gothams, and then the Gotham thing happened.” Or, “Wow, we’re at the Globes,” or, “Wow, we got to Berlin.” There were all these signs that this film was connecting with people, but it felt like we always had to be the cheerleaders to A24 about it [and say], “Let’s keep going.”

With The Apprentice, it had no marketing. When we finally got the movie from, basically, not being almost censored, we had two and a half months of trying to get the film out with any marketing, like billboards on Sunset Boulevard or anything like that. So when you get to the Globes, and I’m sitting there, and I’m going, “Wow, this actually happened with both of these films,” you can’t help but feel grateful because this is the win. This is probably as good as it’s going to get. And then, obviously, anything that happens after that is an amazing moment, but in terms of getting both films seen, it helps to have those moments.

How do you feel after winning the Globe? I’m sure there’s probably some vindication or celebration of the fact that this film you championed was recognized in the first major event of the season.

It was incredibly gratifying for many reasons. One, for the film and getting more attention to it. Two, for the film’s subject matter. It’s not an easy, simple film. It’s beautiful, complex, funny, and tragic and speaks to such big questions and themes. When you look at films like that, there aren’t a lot out there. You want to encourage people like Aaron Schimberg to keep working and making them, for people to keep looking at Adam Pearson as an actor first and not as somebody with a disfigurement, and to envision him in [other] ways. I think that’s what this movie does so brilliantly; for that purpose, it’s amazing.

For me, at 42 years old, having been around and doing this for 20-somewhat years, you’re always hoping that you’re going to be up there someday and thank some of these people. I could’ve been up there for an hour, you know? So many people have contributed to my life, and you just want to highlight everybody. But it was a nice moment for my mom and the close people in my life.

But then it was scary because…we woke up the next day, and 24 hours later, these fires were happening, and suddenly, we were in a different world, and we’ve been in a different world since. It’s been hard to look back at that because it’s been crazy watching so many people lose their homes, people that I know.

Hopefully, everything’s been okay for you.

Yeah, everything’s okay. Fortunately, everyone’s okay, but there are friends and people we know who have lost their homes and everything…or just the entire neighborhood, especially in the Palisades area. It’s really difficult to wrap your mind around it. Mother Nature…I don’t know if there’s anything more humbling than that, right? We all end up being put in the backseat, and none of it really matters at that point. We’re all in the same boat, you know? But hopefully, we’ll get a little bit better today.

I really hope so. Now, getting into your career and these films, do you see any similarities between the two roles of Edward/Guy and Donald Trump?

I do because, to me, I feel like they are two different forms of narcissism, two different forms of extreme narcissism. When I think of narcissism, I think of denying and suppressing who we really are and inventing another person. If you want to look at psychological terms, you call it the super-ego. When the distance between your true self and this other invented version you’re putting forward continues to grow because you’re constantly suppressing and lying about yourself, you have to create a bigger and bigger lie. It starts to have consequences that affect you and the people around you.

Edward is a singular person in his own world, [while Trump] happens to be a political figure who is meant to be a leader and an authoritative figure, meant to be an example to other people. His reach and how he inspires certain people goes much, much further. I’ve always seen both films as a denial of reality and a loss of humanity. That’s what the Trump story is to me. It’s what happens when you completely abandon empathy and morals and are only trying to fuel and feed this one particular need, and you have no regard for consequences that affect other people. Everything’s transactional as long as he can keep his lie alive.

What I see in Trump is a very broken, pained, paranoid, insecure little boy. I don’t say that to simply go, “Yes, he’s human, and you should feel bad for him.” I also say that to highlight the flaws that might get in the way of this person having power, moral authority, and so on. I don’t know if that’s the person I would necessarily trust, you know? Even in these horrific fires, instead of offering solutions, he’s sitting there and using what’s happening in California to serve his story and narrative, point fingers, and assign blame. It’s horrific to me.

With Edward, he feels that he’s made a mistake denying or suppressing himself, but he’s not connecting with that, and, as a result, he ends up becoming kind of a monster himself. Everything revolves around what has been taken from him, but he never assumes responsibility for the fact that he surrendered rather than someone having taken it from him. There are these complex themes that I think are relatable and interesting, and I don’t know if people connect that with those two movies, but I was able to speak about them for the last few months.

What I find fascinating about your career, and correct me if I’m wrong, is that I think you’ve selected characters who have some form of inner darkness beneath the “Sebastian Stan of it all.” I think you’ve done a great job communicating that darkness and how it manifests and festers in different ways. Sometimes it’s loud and funny and exciting, like in Pam and Tommy, and sometimes it can be dark and insidious, like in The Apprentice, Sharper and Destroyer. Is that something you’ve been actively seeking?

I think I have been curious about gravitating towards things that feel complex or I don’t quite understand right away because I find that’s how people are. I think sometimes, when we have discomfort with certain films, the pity of that discomfort can translate into ignoring something altogether because “I don’t want to go there.” Sometimes, it’s something we haven’t confronted yet or don’t want to confront. To me, one of those is that we are not perfect people. People are flawed and are all susceptible to going in very different ways.

I think we all walk around with some version of an angel and a devil on each shoulder. Every day is a decision we make to go out in the world and either hurt or try to help somebody, even in a small way. Like, you go and get a cup of coffee, and maybe you smile at the person, or you don’t even look at them. We’re conscious of things; we’re not conscious of things.

I’m always trying to learn more about myself. I don’t think of any roles as particularly reflective of me, necessarily, but I like surprising myself. I think that’s what I’m supposed to do as an actor: keep exploring humanity and its diversity. I love when there are these roles that feel closer to the truth, that it’s not always black and white, that it’s not always just a good guy and a bad guy. It’s complex. Unfortunately, there are very good people in the world who don’t have the tools and sometimes end up hurting others. There are also sometimes psychopaths that can reflect one good quality, and you wonder if somebody in their life had supported that quality more, would it have been different? I think that’s what’s interesting to me: just how big the scope is in terms of being a human.

Digging into the films themselves, we can start with The Apprentice; I spoke with Maria Bakalova last month, and she told me — and I was blown away by this — that the scene where Donald breaks down after Fred Junior’s death was largely improvised. I’d love to know how you conceived that moment.

I think that was an experience that’s so reflective of my process and how I approach this work. You can go home at night and do all this preparation. You prepare for months before and hope you get there, and you surrender to the director, the other actors, the moment, the scene. You envision things sometimes going a certain way, but almost nine out of 10 times, they don’t go that way. There’s something else happening, and it’s always about staying open to that.

In the script, there was always this moment with Donald being alone in the bathroom and breaking down, and then Ivana walks in and finds him and he quickly cleans himself up and says, “Nothing happened.” We shot it a couple of times, and there were takes where that happened. Then there was another take where, in the moment, I froze, and that was the truth of the scene. Maria walked in, and I knew we weren’t shooting the scene we were supposed to. But we still stayed in it and explored what happened. Fortunately, as was the process with the whole movie, Ali kept rolling, and thankfully, it carried us into the bedroom. We got into bed, and she put her hand on my hand. And then suddenly, all that [emotion] started to happen in that moment. Then I jumped and punched the wall, which didn’t make it into the film, but you had this moment before, which did.

That’s the beauty of this work, what I love about it. If you stay open, there’s a way it can go where you didn’t see it going that ends up being closer to the truth. And you want it always to be as close to the truth as possible.

What aspect of Donald Trump were you most excited and scared to explore?

It’s a really great question; thank you for asking that. I feel actors have to stay curious. I think the creative language is more powerful than any language we have on this earth. No matter where we come from, what we believe, how we were raised, or what language we speak, it’s the one thing that I feel, human to human, we can get to if we can allow ourselves to stay curious.

For me, I thought, “I really want to let me try and find out who this person is.” Going back in time and looking at some of the early footage [of him], I saw a vulnerability and insecurity there that I didn’t know existed, that seemed to be buried down deep underneath this pile of bravado, this carefully curated, Clint Eastwood-like, Zoolander stare down that we’re getting. There was a real person there at one point. I wanted to know more about that and how he became what he became.

I think what scared me the most was, knowing that he’s so well-known and in our faces everywhere, that I felt it was almost near-impossible to get anyone even to spend two hours trying to figure out who this guy was. He’s been done so many times. There are so many caricatures and impressions of him, and these mannerisms that he has now, the way he speaks, the lips, everything… I had to pick and choose how to filter that out through two hours so that people could connect with and believe in the reality and not be disconnected because of what they know.

What helped was that, when he was younger, he was less. There was a lot less of what you see now, those things that have built over time. His voice didn’t sound like he does now; his mannerisms weren’t as specific. That was the challenge and fear, just knowing that if I do a little too much too soon, I’m going to lose everybody. I’m just going to be thrown in there as just another kind of impression.

You’ve spoken about growing up in Romania during the collapse of the Soviet Union, experiencing political unrest and dissent. Did any of those personal experiences shape your performance of Trump or how you approached the film overall?

Yeah, totally. I think this idea about the American Dream that I, my parents, and everybody else in Romania at the time were dreaming and talking about was what I was trying to explore with [the film]. It’s about Trump and Roy Cohn, but it’s also about this ideology. What does it really do to a person? I think we see this over time. There are plenty of examples… if you look at Elon Musk… he keeps growing stronger and bigger, and there’s this idea of power corrupting absolutely. You can make your own thoughts about what he’s become, but there’s something about this American Dream.

When I came to America, my mom said, “We’re here now, and I’ve sacrificed my life, and you have to make something of yourself because you’re going to have this opportunity that so many kids are not going to have. You’re lucky that we got this far.” This is something that 100% helped me, but it’s complicated. I hear that; it drives me, but I also feel this burden of responsibility and this pressure of, “What if I fail? What if it doesn’t happen? How do I deal with this?”

I find that many people in this business, and Silicon Valley and Wall Street, you see people getting more money, accumulating more things or more awards, or they get there, and it’s never enough. There’s always something else, so they have to get another thing. If you’re nominated once for one Oscar and don’t get nominated for another 10 years, then you’re in the “one-time-only club.”

This is, to me, part of the story of The Apprentice. When is it enough, and what does it do to a person? So I think my journey through Vienna and coming here and trying to understand what it means to be an American, growing up in America, 100% influenced me with that part, and probably also drove me to do it.

Moving to A Different Man, the first thing that struck me was how you retain Edward’s physicality while playing Guy while also performing what Guy imagines being a person who never had a physical disability or disfigurement is like. Could you walk me through that process?

On a technical, scientific level, our muscles hold memory. It’s why, sometimes, people talk about improving posture and how standing up straight and walking into a room can influence mood, and there’s a lot of research into that. So, even though you’re dying your hair, losing weight, going to the gym, or [doing] whatever else to feel like you belong more, it doesn’t necessarily change the muscle memory that you carry. There are certain things and traumas over time that will always be there. You may still react to something the same way years later, depending on how much work you’ve done.

For me, [there was] trauma that came from the prosthetics and walking around the city. When I was walking around, I was so self-conscious. I felt people walk by me. Some would look, some would ignore me, but everything in my body was telling me to go in. All I wanted to do was go into myself, get through that street, and get to my destination as quickly as possible. So, as a result, I was walking a certain way, and I felt powerlessness, and I realized that was not going away for Edward.

Edward changes his physical appearance, but he’s never confronted any of the things he feels most in pain about on an internal level, so those things will continue. He might get better and go, “Oh, wait, people don’t look at me that way anymore, so I can actually be this guy.” But when he’s not conscious of it, he’s just falling right into who he was because there was no growth there for him.

It was also important for me to keep certain things about him that were recognizable from an audience standpoint that they’ll see later. I love what you said because I don’t think many people have picked up on Edward as Guy is Edward’s idea of what he should be like as an “able-bodied person.”

The other piece that helped me was speaking with this amazing woman, Elna Baker, who wrote a book about losing nearly 100 pounds. She lost all this weight, and suddenly, she was walking down the street and noticing men and women looking at her. She was finally the person she envisioned herself to be or felt she was. Over time, she started to miss her old self, to the point where she was missing people gawking at her and how heavy she used to be. I thought it was so interesting that this transformation for her didn’t ultimately pay off as she had hoped, that the inner peace, calm, and self-acceptance were not there. She talked about how there were things that she could do that she had never done before, but they weren’t fulfilling her in any way.

In a similar way, I think Guy ends up going down this path that he thinks will supply him with all these things that he’s watched other people have for years, but it’s actually made his life quite boring.

For me, one of the year’s best scenes is when Guy watches Oswald do karaoke and then watches the audience react to Oswald in a way that Guy doesn’t expect. I’d love to know what you were thinking at that moment because it was gorgeously acted, and you were communicating rank devastation through your eyes.

I appreciate that. I never really thought at that moment about how much that scene would ultimately mean. But I think it’s the first time Edward is confronted with this reality and denial of self in a very real way. A lot is happening there. I think he’s fascinated and curious. I think he’s looking for validation. I think he’s hoping that other people will judge Oswald the way he’s judging Oswald in that moment because judging Oswald helps keep his own lie alive.

At one point, he sees these two girls laughing and feels, “Oh, they’re laughing. Okay, good. I made the right choice. They’re laughing as they should because they would laugh at me.” But actually, you don’t even know if they’re laughing at Oswald. So I think it’s a lot of fear and fascination, and he can no longer run from what he’s been denying, which is, “Oh, this could’ve been me. I could’ve owned myself, and perhaps I would’ve been fine.” I think he’s dealing with that, and from that point on, it starts to grow until the end of the movie, when he murders the physical therapist. It keeps growing because of the desperation of trying to maintain the lie of, “No, no, no, I did the right thing,” and it continues to spiral out of control.

That scene is about somebody who’s in total ownership of themselves, which, by the way, I feel Adam is like in life, which is incredible. And then you have somebody who unfortunately realizes they’ve made the biggest mistake of their life.

I’m glad you brought up Adam because his performance is extraordinary, and I wish it were being recognized more this season. But you did thank Adam in your Golden Globe speech for “his trust.” How do you two work together to establish that trust, and how did it manifest on screen?

I think with anybody you’re about to go into the trenches with, we met before, and kind of sussed each other out a little bit, and I just felt, “This is going to be great. This is going to work out.” We were both on the same page about what we wanted here. With Adam and A Different Man, I really felt that he was going to be this lighthouse for me, in terms of trying to understand how to approach this and how I should, in a way, best represent him. I was really in service to him and Aaron.

There was a lot of conversation around how he grew up, his childhood, and his experiences, what he encounters daily online. When we go back again to what we said at the beginning about the loss of humanity, sensitivity, and empathy that’s transpiring online between people, how we attack other people anonymously. It’s like, where do we get that from? Maybe people in power are giving permission to do that, you know? So, the fact that Adam can go out there every day and outwit any of these people and that he’s had to do that for so much of his life is very inspiring and shows how brave he is.

I wanted to understand how one gets to that point. I knew that [Adam] was very different from Edward, but it was also about creating Edward’s past and background. Unlike Adam, who fortunately had a really strong support system with his mother and his family, all we know is that Edward’s mom had passed, and we don’t really know what else transpired. There are many cases that I found researching online of people with disfigurement or different kinds of disabilities who had been abandoned, orphaned, or never had that support system from their families. So, it was interesting, but I felt that whatever I was going to do would always have to be in step with Adam and, of course, Aaron.

One last question to wrap up: what do you want people to take away from these two films?

I still feel, and I was saying this on Sunday night, that there is discomfort around these subject matters that confront us on a level we’re afraid to go to. I think both films do that, and I hope people don’t turn the other way. I don’t believe it’s always ill-intentioned towards disability and disfigurement. I think sometimes people are curious, but they’re afraid of being curious, and they’d rather just look the other way and not confront anything. I’m saying this as someone who’s learned that from Adam. Curiosity is okay. It’s okay to be interested. That’s why I had a little kid come up to me when I was in the prosthetics and was very okay and engaging because that was pure curiosity. There was no judgment yet.

At the same time…there were times when Adam and I were trying to do press together, and we couldn’t… they’d rather only have me. There were things like that that are still not ill-intentioned, but they didn’t want to go there because they didn’t quite know how to deal with [the situation]. As a result, nothing happens.

With The Apprentice, obviously, there’s fatigue and a lot of emotions, and none of that is wrong, but we have to be conscious of that part that leads to fear and indifference. I’ll hear people go, “I’ll watch this after the election.” Well, the world might be very different by that point. It feels a little bit like kicking the can down the road and not confronting reality.

I think this is a unique situation because… we’re confronting something as it’s happening. We’re not waiting 5-10 years after we’ve digested everything. We can look back at the mistakes we made and [whether] that was the right call, and I think that’s what put people in the hot seat. But as I referred to the creative language, it’s about staying curious and open to keep us informed, human to human.

There’s a lot that both of these films are talking about: narcissism, empathy, the loss of self, and acceptance. You’re not necessarily going to get these things from Wikipedia, your email, a news channel, or somebody else telling you on TikTok. You’re going to get that from experiences with other people. When you’re having kids growing up, especially now, with phones and laptops that they’re basically chaining us to, human-to-human connection and empathy are something we have to keep protecting and nourishing. We can do that through movies, books, and art. Not AI algorithms that feed a certain kind of “selective free speech,” but things that reflect how complex [life] is so that we can have an experience. That’s valuable.

I was lucky enough to be in two complicated films that I think were confronting people in certain ways. We’ve been seeing that some people got it, and others aren’t ready for that yet, but I’d rather be on that side than the safe side.

[kevinsdsy]

KEVAARON: so, that was awkward. wasn’t it?

here is a short 696 word drabble? one-shot? i wrote on the train inspired by part 10 of the kevaaron socmed au because i know as much as i want to get back into writing i never commit to finishing anything since i’m so busy :( but yeah please enjoy!

Kevin hadn’t actually done anything wrong. So, he didn’t understand why he was feeling like this— like he’d been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to have done. Shame and embarrassment flooded his body as he looked at Aaron. Shane was still messing with his hair, trying to make it somewhat presentable (and desperately failing at it too), and although Kevin already had enough time to have caught his breath after the make out session with Shane in the locker room, he still felt like his breath caught in his throat.

“Hey,” he choked out— looking at Aaron as he totally ignored the figure next to his friend— too focused on hoping Aaron would understand. Kevin wasn’t even sure what Aaron was supposed to understand in the first place. ‘I’m not dating him.’ That seemed like a good beginning, but Kevin couldn’t make sense to why it would matter in the first place.

Kevin hoped Aaron would realise this meant nothing. Shane’s lips trailing down Kevin’s chest and Kevin’s lips on Shane’s neck didn’t mean anything. Kevin didn’t know why it would matter to Aaron anyway. Kevin could kiss and make out with whomever he pleased without having to explain himself. It didn’t stop him from the lingering thoughts about Jean’s taunting words regarding Kevin’s feelings towards Aaron, which Kevin was still determined to believe to be untrue.

Aaron raised his eyebrow as he looked at Kevin and Kevin was sure Aaron could see the shadows of where Shane had put his hands and had left a hot trail of kisses on his body.

“Hey,” Aaron said— it sounded nonchalant enough to seem normal, but Kevin felt the awkward tension hanging around them. It didn’t help that Sebastian Moore, Aaron’s childhood friend— his best friend, really, kept looking at them as if he was watching a tennis match. It took Kevin all his willpower to not shoot him an annoyed glare, but apparently he didn’t have to since Kevin noticed the glare Aaron was sending Sebastian’s way.

Kevin didn’t take note of it as something of importance, especially since it was a facial expression that rested quite a lot on Aaron’s face, anyway. He didn’t dare wonder if the glare could mean something— anything, because if it did it would have meant Kevin had just been caught and worse of all it would mean Kevin had to face his own feelings towards the blond haired guy.

Shane awkwardly cleared his throat behind Kevin’s ear and Kevin was suddenly aware of how the silence had stretched, which seemed weird, because the silence between them had never felt this suffocating.

“Well, Shawn’s waiting for me…” Shane trailed off awkwardly. “It was a nice game. Let’s do it again.” Shane pinched Kevin’s lower back before patting Aaron on the back as he left. “Oh, and don’t let Jeremy and Jean wait for too long.” Shane reminded Kevin with a grin on his face.

“Sure,” Kevin said, although he didn’t move. “We’re going out and hit the city— Get drunk somewhere. You wanna come with?” Kevin offered his night to Aaron.

“No,” Aaron said with pursed lips. “I have plans with Sebastian. You have fun, though,” he said as he looked Kevin and up and down. “Although looks like you already have.” Aaron patted Kevin’s shoulder and it took all effort on Kevin’s side to not flinch at his touch.

“I’ll see you in the morning then,” Aaron said.

“Sure.” Kevin agreed.

Kevin had expected Aaron had meant they would see each other in their shared hotel room as they woke up from their too little hours of sleep.

Instead, Kevin woke up to an empty room. Aaron’s bed was made— although someone had definitely slept in it and Aaron’s overnight bag was not slumped in the corner of the room like it had been a few hours ago.

Kevin ignored the silence in his room and the buzzing sound of his phone as the angry messages from coach Wymack appeared on his screen— mentioning how everyone was already waiting for him and he would send Andrew his way if he wouldn’t be downstairs in the next ten minutes.

[libraryofloveletters]

holiday extravaganza 2023!

hi besties!! those of you that have been around for a while now that the holidays are my favourite time of the year; christmas, new years, and my birthday. 

so in honour of my favourite season, I bring to you; the holiday extravaganza 2023.   

it's a bit different this year, I've picked out prompts and drivers/players that are attached to each. they are meant to be blurbs so they vary in length but aren't very long :) - I hope you guys enjoy these as much I did! - as always, thank you to @diorleclerc the beautiful banner :)

running from: December 20th to December 29th. // 4-5 blurbs a day :)

tagged under: holiday extravaganza blurbs 23

December 20th

Sebastian Vettel - The Right Way To Do It 

Sebastian is the most meticulous person you've ever met in your life, and yes, that also translates to Christmas tree decorating.

Rodri - Don’t Fall

It was safe to say the man who comes from sunshine had yet to ice skate in his life. You made it your mission to change that; he was in Manchester,  after all.

Carlos Sainz Jr - Always You 

The infamous Sainz Christmas party. Every year your parents dragged you along and you only went to see one person. Your motives for going haven’t strayed despite growing up.

John Stones - Sing It With Me

John’s Christmas parties were famous for being crazy and unhinged, much like their host himself; because who else would end up drunk on a table, singing Christmas carols?

Jack Grealish - Made For You

His favourite time of the year; when you suggested the idea of matching pjs, Jack was all over it.

December 21st

Aaron Ramdale - Messy 

Aaron can’t help himself when he comes home from training and finds you baking Christmas cookies.

Mick Schumacher - Say Cheese  

Angie, much like her human father, hated to sit still for photos. Imagine the struggle to get both Schumachers to sit for a holiday card.

Paulo Dybala - Sweet Like Candy 

You had started making holiday treat bags for your class with the help of your boyfriend, who seems to be puzzled by the long curved candy you put in the bags.

Charles Leclerc - Stuff It

Charles goes a bit over board seeing that it’s your first Christmas with him, as his girlfriend that is. He revives an old tradition you two had as children.

Max Verstappen - Gimme A Smooch 

He was never one to indulge in things like mistletoe but since he begun to date you, he didn’t have much of a choice. 

December 22nd

Lewis Hamilton - The Art Of Wrapping

As he does every year, the house is filled with shopping bags and Lewis struggles to wrap all of his gifts. This year, he has a secret weapon; you.

Christian Pulisic - A Solid Foundation 

You and Christian have a contest to see who can build the best gingerbread house. Safe to say, you both went a little overboard

Kevin Magnussen - Something Doesn’t Taste Right 

Your husband convinces you that he knows how to make eggnog, no need to buy it from the store. His father’s recipe is the best of the best.. that’s if Kevin can figure it out.

Yuki Tsunoda - A Sweet Treat

Over your years at Alpha Tauri, you developed a habit with your driver; a sweet treat left behind as a peace offering when something went wrong. This time, Yuki was the one leaving the sweet treat.

Fernando Alonso - Wrapped Up 

Yet again, Fernando has forgotten to buy his Christmas gifts but there’s only one person that he cares to get something for.

December 23rd

Pierre Gasly - The Christmas Market 

You were missing home quite a bit and Pierre decides to indulge in one of your favourite holiday traditions.

Jenson Button - Jingle Bells 

The kids are convinced that they hear the bells on Santa’s sleigh, and Jenson is the exact same way. 

Darwin Nunez - Burnt 

Darwin suggests you host a dinner party at your place for a few of his teammates before you all head out for the holidays. He seems to have underestimate how much work goes into said party.

Son Heung-Min - Rudolph, The Red Nose Reindeer 

The winter fair was in town and Sonny decides that you two should go pay the reindeers a visit, because that’s what Santa would want.

December 24th

Jude Bellingham - A Visit To Santa

Jude decides now that you two are back home in England to take his brother to do the one thing they always did as kids; visit Santa.

Virgil Van Dijk - Holiday Oopsies

A snowstorm hits Liverpool and Virgil decides it would be good to take the kids to the park. Even with a warning from you, someone ends up in the hospital on Christmas Eve.

Daniel Ricciardo - Holiday Tunes

He insists on making a playlist for the holiday party, picking the worst possible songs on the planet.

Ibrahima ‘Ibou’ Konate - Movie Stars 

Ibou decides it would be a good idea for you two to make a vlog over the holiday break, just so he can keep his teammates updated.

Ruben Dias - The Lights Shining Down On You 

The people of Manchester love Christmas, just as much as you do. Ruben makes it his mission to ensure that you get to see every single Christmas display there is to see.  

December 25th

Antonie Griezmann - Glues Sticks and Pom Poms 

Every year since moving to Atletico, his girls have helped him to make Christmas cards for his teammates; this year was no different. The three of them covered in glitter, glue and pom poms.

Dominik Szoboszlai - I Spy With My Little Eye

This Christmas was different. Dom made you work for your gift rather than giving it to you; following the clues through the neighbourhood to your final gift.

Erling Haaland - Moo-rry Christmas

Erling insists that Santa has to get cookies and milk for his journey to Norway. Now where you got that milk? Erling the Farmer was on the job.

Trent Alexander Arnold - Christmas With The Robertsons 

Andy and Rachel have a holiday date night and call their two favourite people in the world to come babysit for them; auntie y/n and uncle trenty.

Andrew ‘Andy’ Robertson - Bumps and Bruises 

You convince your boyfriend that it’d be perfectly safe to go down the massive hill.. except it wasn’t.

December 26th

Jordan Henderson - Chocolate Doors 

Jordan buys your children a Christmas advent calendar, but they don't exactly understand the concept.

Jobe Bellingham - Must Watch 

His training took over most of his time so now that he was on break, you insisted you two do nothing but laze.

Yassine Bounou - The Mystery Gift

The Sevilla players have a tradition of playing secret Santa amongst themselves. You're a bit confused when a gift ends up on your desk.

Achraf Hakimi - Unwrapped

Kylian invites a few friends over to celebrate Christmas with him and his family. You can't quite remember what happened the night before you know you don't remember the events leading up to this morning.

December 27th 

Sergio Ramos - Christmas Cookies 

The kids insist Santa must get cookies when he drops off his present. Sergio make sure they know that Santa stopped by during night.

Pato O’Ward - Roll Over

Home for the holidays and cooped up inside due to the rain, both puppies and Pato go a little stir crazy.

Sergio ‘Checo’ Perez - Work Place Friendly 

RedBull hosts their annual holiday party, everyone sprawled out through the factory and you two ? Well.. that was a different story.

Thiago Alcantara - A Countdown To Midnight

Thiago insists on a new way to do the new years kiss, because waiting hours for one kiss wasn’t good enough.

Richarlison - A Brazilian Christmas

Rich stays in London for the holidays but he’s feeling bit home sick. You try your best to work with what you’ve got to cheer him up. 

December 28th

Kylian Mbappe - Ho Ho Ho 

When Santa’s elves weren’t at the workshop, his niece and nephew were a bit disappoint. Uncle Kyky finds a way to cheer them up, even if it earns him a few teasing comments from you.

Kostas Tsimikas - Mountains of Snow

Kostas insists that you two should go out into the snow and make a snowman. When you say no, he uses his skills of persuasion to get you to change your mind.

Mark Webber - Snowed In 

It wasn't even his idea to go to Switzerland, and now he was stuck on New Year's Eve, in the worst place on the planet; the airport.

Esteban Ocon - Behind The Curtains 

A school boy crush on his teammate; all it takes is a few sips of liquor and a photo booth to reveal his true feelings.

Lucas Paquetá - Box It Up 

As long as it takes to put up, it comes down in half the time. Lucas doesn't understand the delicate process of re-packing your ornaments.

December 29th

Giovanni ‘Gio’ Reyna - I’m Not Wearing This 

Gio tells your aunt that he loves the sweaters she knits.  So when he's gifted one, you make sure that he wears it.

Joe Gomez - Stuck 

You and Joe take a week off before Christmas hectic-ness to go up to the cabin and relax. The last thing you expected what to get snowed in.

Marcus Rashford - The Time For Giving 

The last place you expected to bump into him was the exact place you seem to find him.

Kimi Raikkonen - New Years At Home

From partying to parents; you and Kimi celebrate your first new years with your baby girl.

Lance Stroll - Choo Choo Trains 

Uncle Lance promised his nephew a toy train and when he remembers, he scrabbles last minute to find something.

[sweet-villain]

You Had Me~ Sebastian Stan/ Aaron Taylor Johnson series ~1

Summary : You are into your best friends, but there is some secrets to recover. What happens when he finds the truth? What happens when the best cure is the man that's into you?

Sometimes you thought life would throw you a curveball or give you a magical moment where you shake that good luck ball and it would give you a message.

A message that would change everything. 

Your world did a whole 360 when you were casted as Lighting Shadow, your character Erin Wallace, as a child you were in an electrical accident.

Your character has the ability to control electricity and as for the shadow part, you use it to hide yourself from enemies or use it for a source of transportation. 

You play Pietro’s love interest in the movie. Before also in Captain America, being Bucky’s love interest. 

There was no secret behind it that you and Sebastian had a spark on set. Everyone could tell but you were oblivious to it. It was him being friendly.

But Aaron wasn’t a stranger either to you. The two of you met on the set of Kick Ass, where he grew fond of you and the two of you became close.

Not too close as Aaron had hid the fact that he got married. He was terrified to tell you as every time he looked at you, he had this feeling.

He called it a funny feeling. It’s silly, he thought when his eyes peered over at you and his heart skipped faster. Aaron shook it off as a small crush he had developed and it would go away. 

You were too fazed in your head to notice that Aaron had sat on one side while Elizabeth “ Lizzy” Olsen.

Your best friend whom you couldn’t hide anything from her as she discovered you were into Aaron.

But that puts you into a bit of hot water because Lizzy has kept her mouth shut on Aaron’s secret.

She knew it would hurt you, but she thought it was for the best since you would have Sebastian by your side. 

She knew what she was doing. 

Questions were coming here and there, to you about your character and to the others. Then one person stood up from the crowd dressed as you from the movie. 

“Who did you like kissing better? Pietro from Age of Ultron or Bucky from Captain America?” She asked. Aaron turned to you, a slight smirk on his face, he wanted to see what you would say. 

The crowd “ ooh” and “ Ah” at the question. Lizzy giggled as she waited for your answer as well curious who you’d pick. 

I rather not choose” You simply said leaning back in the chair. “ Awe…” The crowd pouted and wined. “ Oh Come on Y/N, it’s easy. Just pick me..” Aaron said, chuckling. 

“ I don’t want to upset Seb“ “ Oh? So I’m a better kisser than you?”  Rolling your eyes you pushed his shoulder. Aaron puffed his chest out as his smirk widened and then he nodded, “ Of course it’s me.” 

“All I am going to say is I love working with you and Sebastian but come on give a girl a break here?” The cast laughed along with the crowd.

The rest of the panel went great. When you stood up, Lizzy whispered in your ear, “ You have the hots for him.” She sang. 

Looking at her, you shrugged. Aaron was gorgeous, how can you not think he’s not? He was sweet, adorable and a total dork as well. “ You can’t like him though” 

Lizzy decided upon herself that she would tell you what Aaron has been hiding.

You are her best friend and besides, this would have Sebastian coming to the rescue and comforting you. She knew Sebastian had a thing for you. 

At this new information, you frowned following her out. “ Why not?” She sighed knowing this was going to come but she had to tell you if Aaron wasn’t going to.

 “ He’s married” Shocked at this information, your eyebrows frowned together as you took a glance at him.

Why didn’t he tell you? Being hurt by this, you avoided his gaze as he glanced at you, sending you a smile.

His smile dropped when you didn’t return it and avoided contact. 

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion as he tried to move in between people but he couldn't catch up to you in time as you already had left.

He sighed to himself. 

Weeks went by and you were ignoring Aaron the best way you could. Ignoring his calls, text and when he came to your door knocking on it. You changed the locks, he had a key.

When he found out that you changed it, he banged on it. He begged you to open the door, you stood on the other side of the door hearing his pleads. 

“ I miss you!” 

“ What did I do ??” 

Those were the only things he would say on the other side of the door while banging on the door and running a hand through his hair. He was upset and frustrated, trying to understand what he did wrong.

He doesn’t realize how much he hurt you with his secret. 

Your eyes were closed with your back against the door, every bang he would make caused a tear to shed down your cheek. Your heart felt like it was ripped into a million pieces. 

“ Please” he begged. 

You tried so hard to not open the door, you wanted to but this was for the best. 

“ I don’t understand why he never told me. Why did he keep me in the dark about this? It’s not like I was going to get mad but now, I don’t know how to feel. I mean, the way he looked at me on set.. It was like there was something there… or am I being delusional about this?” you asked Lizzy sitting across from her at a table in her kitchen. 

She sighed and grabbed onto your hands. 

“ You’re not. He was giving you those looks when you look at someone and feel like they are right for you.. You know?” you shrugged not really knowing the look or how it really looks.

You don’t even know if it was the look that Aaron was giving you, honestly. 

“ I’m sorry,” she added. “ You don’t deserve it” 

You shrugged. 

“  At least now you and Seb can get closer” your head shot up as you heard his name. “ Sorry?” you asked. She rolled her eyes, knowing you. 

“ You can’t tell me there is something there between you and Sebastain. Everyone could see it. He’s so into you..” she says.

A huge smile lights up on her face. Maybe steering away from Aaron would do you some good, she thought. 

“ I don’t know what you're talking about Olsen, but there is nothing there” you lied.

You knew something was there between you two. You can tell from how his eyes light up every time you two were in the room together, how he talks about you to others, and the way he would look at you and listen to you.

Even if it’s nonsense, you have his attention. 

She sighs, “ Whatever you say, sunshine. “ 

“ I can’t be friends with Aaron anymore” you stood up from the chair you were sitting in and put your hands on your hips. “ It’s not right, I need to get over him…” you mumble. 

“ He misses you.. Ask about you.. He’s been super moody…” she says. “ Do you want tea?” she asks. 

“ No, thank you. I don’t really care if he misses me, he hurts me and I don’t know..I can’t be around him.” 

A car pulls up to the house, Lizzy knitted her eyebrows together. She was not expecting anyone. 

“ You invited someone over? She asks, putting down her cup and heading towards the door. You shook your head, knitted eyebrows and followed her down the hallway to see who it was. She peers behind the curtain and see’s Aaron’s car. 

“ Huh, Aaron is here…” she says, letting the curtain go and turning her head towards you. “ You didn’t tell him you were here, did  you?” 

You shook your head. 

“ I haven’t talked to him in weeks. Why is he here?” She shrugs as she heads toward the door but you grab onto her wrist in time to stop her. 

“ What?” 

“ Don’t tell him I’m here” you whispered to her, eyeing the door. “ He can’t know…” you dropped her wrist before heading to the kitchen. Lizzy sighs and heads towards the door and throws it open since she knew who it was. 

“ Aaron! What a pleasant surprise” she says. “ Didn’t know you were in the neighborhood.” Aaron stares down at Lizzy and then looks over her shoulder at the hallway that leads to the kitchen.

She swallows the lump in her throat hoping he doesn’t walk into her house, uninvited and searching for you. 

“ Is she here?” he asks meaning he’s asking about you. She shakes her head. 

He tilts his head to the side inspecting her, the smell of your perfume hits his nose and it flares up in disappointment. He knew she was lying to him. 

“ Tell her to call me…” he turns to walk back to his car but not before turning around, looking at her over his shoulder as he adds, “ Please.” 

She closes the door after he leaves and turns around to jump, holding onto her heart as you stand there giving her a sympathetic look that you were sorry you scared her. Your eyes go to the door. 

“ Is he gone?” She moves away from the door. 

“ You need to stop acting like a child and talk to him. He’s a person, with feelings like you. He’s not a robot where he can turn his emotions off and on. He cares about you and I can tell it’s hurting the both of you being away from each other…” 

“ I can’t talk to him… no” you shook your head. She rolls her eyes.

“ You’re so stubborn” She notices he’s still there, sitting in the car and waiting. Waiting for what though? 

“ He’s still here, go talk to him” she turns you around and pushes you towards the door but you manage to grab onto the wall and refuse to move with your feet digging into the carpet. It moves away and slides with your feet. 

Lizzy gives up and throws her hands up in the air. 

“ Fine, I’m talking to him” 

“ O-okay.. What are you going to tell him?” 

“ The truth” your eyes widen and before you get a chance to hold her back, she is already making her way to his car with your hand on the door looking, eyes wide as she approaches his car. 

Lizzy knocks on the window startling Aaron and he rolls it down, wiping away his tears. 

“ I was just about to leave….” he says, starting the car. “ Sorry” he adds. Lizzy shakes her head and walks around the car to get into the passenger side. 

“ She knows” is the first thing Lizzy says to him. Aaron turns the car off and looks over at her, confusion is written on his face. “ What are you talking about?” He asks. 

“ She knows you're married” Aaron’s eyes got wide. “ How??” He asks.

Guilt crosses her face as she glances down at her hands. She didn’t need to answer him, hearing him groan as he threw his head back into his seat. 

“ Why did you tell her?” 

“ Because she needed to know before it got worse” At this information, Aaron turned to look at Lizzy. 

“ Got worse for what? What does that mean?” 

“ You don’t realize that maybe… just maybe the girl cares about you more than you know..” she doesn’t want to say the exact words to him but paint him a clear picture on what she means.

It doesn’t take long for Aaron to understand what she means, his eyes get wide and his head shoots over at the house. 

You are still standing there. 

He gets out of the car and you notice this, fearing he would be angry with you, you were closing the door when his hand happened to stop it.

He ran to the door blocking to make sure you were not going to hide from him.

Not this time. 

“ Stop, we need to talk” he says as he pushes against the door. The door opens to reveal you face to face, eyes glossy as you wait for him to yell at you, to laugh at you and worse, to tell you he hates you. 

But those words never came. 

“ I’m sorry” He started to say. You snorted, he was sorry. Sorry was a word you didn’t want to hear. It was overused with everyone that told you from Lizzy to your parents and now hearing it from Aaron. 

“ I don’t have romantic feelings for you Y/N. I am happily married, I didn’t tell you because I wanted it to be a secret. My private life is my life. But you're my best friend, I want it to be that way. We have been through a lot together and I can’t lose you. Our friendship means to much to me” 

Your mouth forms into a thin line where you weren’t going to say anything.

But he knew from your glossy eye, one tear shedding down your cheek that he had hurt you.

The truth did hurt and he finally told you what he wanted. Right? Aaron ran the words over and over in his head as he continued to wait for you to talk.

It didn’t make sense in his head. He feels like an idiot. 

He can’t go back though, he has done the damage. 

“ We can’t be friends anymore,” you tell him. His eyes sadden at your words and shake his head. 

“ That’s not true, we can get past this and it’s just a silly phase. I need you to be my best friend. I want you to be my best friend. “ 

“ Things don’t work the way you want them too, sorry” you shrugged. 

“ I care about you way too much to throw this friendship away” 

“ Go…” you said through your tears as they were streaming down your cheeks like waterfalls.

“ You better go” Lizzy tells him from behind, she walks over to you and pulls you into her, rubbing your back in comfort. 

Aaron looks at you one more time before he sighs, shoving his hands in his pockets as he heads towards his car. 

He knew the truth now. It hurt. He looks back to see Lizzy has closed the door.

He gets into the car and starts the engine, giving the door another look. His own heart sinking into his stomach. He feels like this wasn’t the end of what’s to come. 

You were laying in Lizzy’s lap as she stroked your head, singing softly while the tears were no more left to shed and you stared into the tv of the show that was on.

You didn’t pay attention to it. Your mind was racing. 

The doorbell rang. You didn’t even move to see who it was as Lizzy headed towards the door. She had to call him. She had to have him come over.

He’s been away filming and he's back now. 

You heard talking in hushed tones but paid no mind. Footsteps could be heard as they came closer.

Someone kneels down on their knees in front of you. 

“ Hi, buttercup,” they said, greeting you. Your eyes widen as your eyes set on a familiar face.

A smile spreads across your lips as you throw yourself into his arms, breathing in his scent.He squeezes you tight against him, chuckling as he feels your smile against his shirt. 

Maybe this day wasn’t so bad afterall.